This article compares the experiences of two elementary teachers, each of whom attended a traditional workshop on the development of conclusions within science notebooks. One teacher continued to expand her learning on this topic by participating in a lesson study group; the other did not. Through a qualitative case study, I explored the impact on…

Parents can play a vital and active role in facilitating their children's science learning outside the formal classrooms. Parental involvement in their children's science learning process not only could enhance their children's learning motivation and interest in science, it could also help to strengthen the family bond when parents and children…

Most children enjoy being in gardens. To capitalize on this interest, the authors designed a pea project in which second- and third-grade students would discover how plants grow under different conditions while also developing observation and nonfiction writing skills. As a result of this inquiry-based project, students learned how to think and…

Insect vision is an area of active research that allows fruitful exploration into the nature of the scientific endeavor because of the bias our own vision brings. As scientists, we use our senses to make observations, but we can't assume that what we see is what insects see; we are forced to think outside of our own senses when we ask questions…

This paper reports the results of a 3-year longitudinal study on the perceived utility of supplying elementary science teacher interns with four asynchronous tools to assist them in creating their first lesson plan of a constructivist nature. The research accessed qualitative and quantitative measures to sample intern reaction to the notion of a…

Thirty preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based science methods course were placed at a public elementary school for coursework and for teaching practice with elementary students. Candidates focused on building conceptual understanding of science content and pedagogical methods through innovative curriculum development and other course…

This mixed methods study examined the effectiveness of a virtual world curriculum for teaching elementary students complex science concepts and skills. Data were collected using pre- and post-content tests and a student survey of engaged learning, An additional survey collected teacher observations of 21st century competencies conducive to…

In this study, we investigated whether concept maps were used as often and as effectively in elementary science and technology classrooms as recommended by the National Ministry of Education (MEB) in the new curricula in Turkey. In the new elementary science and technology curricula, the MEB provides a general concept map for each unit. We used…

This study investigated whether arrow-line cues can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of learning in a mobile device supported learning environment on leaf morphology of plants, either with or without the use of real plants. A cued and un-cued condition, in which primary school students used text and pictures on a tablet PC, were compared…

Within the field of science education, there remains little agreement as to the definition and characteristics of classroom inquiry. The emerging emphasis on scientific practices in science education reform discourse is underpinned by a need to better articulate the constituent elements of inquiry-based science. While a small number of…

In this article, we present a valid and reliable instrument which measures the attitude of in-service and pre-service primary teachers toward teaching science, called the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS) Instrument. Attention to the attitudes of primary teachers toward teaching science is of fundamental importance to the…

As each school year starts, teachers are faced with teaching and building relationships with students from diverse backgrounds. To effectively teach students, science teachers (and teachers in general) must develop an understanding of students' culture, background, and language. Knowing these factors, as well as students' learning needs,…

Despite efforts mandated by national legislation, the state of Georgia has made little progress in improving Grade 5 students' standardized test scores in science, spurring the need for social change. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in the student achievement in…

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe teaching actions--embedded in the "Science Writing Heuristic approach," a systematic teaching approach that integrates literacy instruction and argument-based inquiry learning of science--supportive of the cross-disciplinary literacy expectations necessary to compete in the 21st…

Elementary teacher education involves learning to teach science. Even in elementary school, teaching science is demanding work--teachers must orchestrate a complex set of teaching practices to support students' science learning. This dissertation examines the application of Grossman and colleagues' (2009) cross-professional learning framework,…